Mexican Street Corn Inspired Salad

Tired of the same old macaroni salad side dishes for your weekend get togethers? This cold corn salad takes it’s inspiration from one of my favorite dishes, Mexican Street Corn but since you don’t need to try and keep it warm it’s a great option for a potluck! This dish is naturally a vegetarian dish but can easily be made vegan with just a few easy substitutions.

Late summer and early fall is the best time to indulge in corn based dishes because you can get the fresh sweet corn at your local store for so incredibly cheap! I picked up 5 ears for just $3 last week at my local grocer, making this the perfect dish if you need something economical to feed a large crowd on a small budget!

What you are going to need to buy:

Ears of Sweet Corn - I would budget 1 ear per 1-2 people that you need to serve. The 5 ears that I bought would easily serve 4-6!

Red Onion

2 ripe and ready to cut, Avocados

Queso Fresco (or your favorite crumbly Vegan Cheese like this one from Daiya Foods)

2 Limes

Mayo (Vegan version from Hellmanns is great!

Dair-Free Sour Cream - (in our opinion Tofutti is the OG…and also the best!)

Minced Garlic - (our favorite is from Spice World!)  

White Sugar

White Vinegar

Cayenne Pepper

Hot Sauce

Smoked Paprika (or whatever paprika you have on hand)

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Fresh Cilantro (or Parsley if you are in the Cilantro tastes like soap camp)

What you are going to need to do:

This recipe is so simple I almost feel guilty calling it a recipe, but here goes…
Begin by cutting the corn off the cobs! Do yourself a favor and just use the fresh sweet corn! The sweet and crunchy texture of fresh corn off the cob isn’t something that you are ever going to be able to replicate from out of a can.

Dice your red onion into small pieces, roughly the same size as the corn kernels.

PRO TIP: When it comes to salads it’s nice when the ingredients are all similar sizes!

Open your avocados and cut into small cubes.

For the dressing: In a separate little bowl mix together 1/4 cup of mayo with 2 tablespoons of sour cream, a tablespoon of minced garlic, a splash of vinegar, a tablespoon of sugar (or use some agave) a few dashes of hot sauce, depending on your pallet, and the cayenne, paprika, and salt & pepper, to taste.

Pour the dressing over the salad and stir gently.

Give your fresh herbs a rough chop. Regardless of the herbs that you use you will want a good handful, at least 1/2 a cup or so.

Fold in your herbs and crumble in your cheese.

Lastly, squeeze the juice of 1 lime over the top and gently give one final stir. (I tend to like mine very lime-y so I used two limes, but if you’re not a lime-lover like me make sure to taste yours first before you do…

For presentation, garnish with lime wedges and another sprinkling of paprika

Enjoy!